UK gilt bond yields hit post-Brexit highs after Fed rate signal

LONDON: Long-dated British government bond yields hit their highest levels since the country's Brexit vote after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates and said it saw more rate cuts next year than it previously planned.

Yields on 20- and 30-year British gilt yields rose as high as 2.059 and 2.171 percent respectively on Thursday, their highest levels since June 23, the day British voters decided to leave the European Union.

The yield on 10-year gilts hit 1.515 percent, its highest level since May 5.

The Fed's announcement on Wednesday hit European government bond prices broadly on Thursday, but British gilts tend to be more sensitive to movements in U.S. Treasuries. The spread of 10-year gilt yields over German Bunds widened by three basis points to 119 basis points, its widest since Dec. 2.